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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23425876">dawn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kareofbears/pseuds/kareofbears'>kareofbears</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Escapril [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Introspection, M/M, thrilling saga of Akira not being in the fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:08:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>283</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23425876</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kareofbears/pseuds/kareofbears</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryuji runs.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Escapril [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685116</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>dawn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>"Escapril is a poetry challenge created by Savannah Brown in which participants are tasked with writing [ ] every day for the month of April." Day 1: Dawn.</p><p>In other words - drabbles, Akiryu, group dynamics, and mountains of introspection.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ryuji runs. </p><p>No surprise. He was on the track team for years, has loved the feel of pushing his muscles to their limit for even longer. </p><p>He gets up just before sunrise, shrugs into a shitty shirt, kisses his mom’s forehead while she snores on a bed that’s too big for one person, pushes earbuds in, and walks out the door.</p><p>There’s just something about the way that the morning air hits his overheated body, the way his lungs wheeze and sweat runs down from the back of his neck that’s a little addicting - it pulls him away from everything, forces him to focus on the now, on the exertion of the human body. </p><p>It’s a distraction. </p><p>With every step, he forgets his godawful dad, the feel of the swing before it even touches him. </p><p>With every pant, his teammates, glaring at him, scorn overflowing and permeating on the walls of Shujin disappears.</p><p>With every bead of sweat, Kamoshida, the smile that makes him shiver even now and the echoing sound of a breaking bone constantly bouncing around his head in the middle of the night fades away.</p><p>But it’s different now. He doesn’t run to try and leave the past behind him, now it’s, it’s-</p><p>Knowing gray eyes and pitch-black hair. White mask and red gloves. Small smiles and intricate plans. </p><p>He shakes his head and forces himself to move faster, work harder. Not now, not ever. He can’t. Thinking about that would mean facing other things, things that he doesn’t think he can process - the <i>what</i>, the <i>why</i>, the <i>how</i>.</p><p>The <i>so, what does that make me?</i></p><p>Gritting his teeth, he pushes himself to do what he does best. </p><p>Ryuji runs.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*blows kiss to the sky* in honor of persona 5 royal</p></blockquote></div></div>
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